Earlier this week we were featured in an article in the Globe and Mail on mobile money which discussed the industry and Telepin's role within in it:

But while mobile payments could have a bright future in North America, the real action today is in emerging economies, where people seldom have bank accounts or credit cards.

Telepin came to this potentially huge market indirectly. A small group of technologists – one of whom still works at Telepin – started the company in 2006 with software designed to make it easier for customers to buy prepaid airtime.

Originally, prepaid mobile plans required customers to buy plastic cards from retailers. Scratching a patch on the card would reveal a number that, when entered on the phone keypad, would add the value of the card to the customer’s airtime account. This is both inconvenient for customers and costly for the carriers, who must produce and distribute the cards, says Vincent Kadar, Telepin’s president. Counterfeiting is also a problem.

As biased as I may be, the article does a good job of explaining the industry and how it impacts consumers.

-Vince Kadar